


Bearers of the Zodiac

by lunamugetsu



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology, Original Work
Genre: Egyptian Gods, Expect a joke here or there, Greek and Roman Mythology - Freeform, Kidnapping, Magic, Minor Character Deaths, Multiple Worlds, Not completely Serious, Original Characters - Freeform, Other, Supernatural - Freeform, Torture, Zodiac, fictional story, forced decisions, just not all the time, might or might now have romance, mythical creatures, probable graphic violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-08 07:37:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6845227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunamugetsu/pseuds/lunamugetsu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are worlds that are beyond mankind. And there are those who plan to keep them safe. This is the story of worlds beyond our own and what happens if people walk into our world.<br/>Ch.1: I wanted revenge, and in doing so, I ended up becoming a bearer of a Zodiac<br/>Ch.2: I needed to escape, and I was willing to do anything to save whoever was still alive, and this is how I became a bearer of a Zodiac</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How I became Cancer

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a random idea that's been going on in my head for sometime, just don't expect constant updates all the time. Any constructive criticism is appreciated.

My life began like anyone else’s. I was born, I was loved, I had a family. Unfortunately life isn’t fair and likes to throw everything at you to see if you’ll actually stand for it. This is the story of how my life was forever changed and how my choice brought me here. My name is Robin Colter and my story started with a death.

I watched as my family and friends paid their respects at her grave. I nodded in thanks as they gave me their condolences for what I’ve lost. I suppose everything was a blur to me at that moment. After all, I just lost my only sibling, my little sister Abby. She was such a vibrant young lady, having such a bright future ahead of her. Sadly it was cut short, as she was found floating in the high school pool with a trail of blood streaming from her head. They said that it was an accident, that she had slipped and hit her head on the side of the pool and fell into the water while she was disoriented. I was sitting in my seat while looking at a photo of Abby and I, it was when I was in highschool and she was in middle school, the conversations of my extended family converged in the background.

“Such a shame, Abby was such a nice young girl.” 

“She was a bit more wild if you asked me.”

“It’s so sad, Robin’s already lost her parents, and now she’s lost her sister”

I sat up trying to get away from the gossip from my aunts. I never really liked them, probably why I never bothered to remember their names. I didn’t need pity, I’ve already lost enough, I don’t need sorry looks or apologies of people that I barely know. I looked back at the photo of Abby and I. Abby had short black hair that was always held up in a ponytail while mine was long and was tied in a braid. She had brown eyes while I had hazel, we were standing in front of the jack-o-lantern that we had carved for halloween. 

“Have you found it yet?” The voice pulled me out of my thoughts I looked over at the man that had spoken. He wasn’t old probably around his late twenties or early thirties.

“What?” I surveyed the slim man who was in a standard black suit. He was wearing sunglasses and his hair was combed back in a formal manner.

“It’s too soon then.” His voice was soft yet calculative.

“What?” I stood there confused as I saw him started to walk away before saying.

“We’ll meet again, Ms. Colter.”

Who the heck was that, was the only thought that I had going through my mind. It was only a couple of days later did I find what he was talking about.

I found it in my dresser right next to the jewelry box that belonged to mom. It was a white envelope with my name written on the back in Abby’s handwriting, and inside that it was a letter addressed to me.

_ Robin, by the time you read this, I’m probably dead. If I’m not, then I probably just forgot to take this out of the dresser. It’s been going on for so long. At first I thought it was nothing, and then it kept on happening again, and again, and again. I’m pretty sure that you’ve noticed that I’ve been acting strange lately. I think that someone’s been following me. At first, I thought I was being paranoid, and then small things started to happen. My pencils and pens started to go missing, I kept on finding my things moved from where I last put them, then things started to go missing from my locker. I know I should have probably told you about this earlier, but you already have too much on your plate with college, your job, and having to take care of me ever since mom and dad died. I didn't want to give you anything else to worry about. Robin if I am gone, I want you to know this. _

_ Songs about mortality Are calling out loud. Kindred is...living life enchants death. My eternity. _

"What the heck does that mean?" I muttered 

_ Crash! _

I quickly turned my head towards where the sound originated. 

That sounded like it was from Abby’s room I thought and ran towards her room and flung open the door to see a hooded figure jump out of the window and ran out of sight. I surveyed the room for what had caused the crash and saw that the intruder had knocked over the vase of flowers that she kept in front of the window. 

What the heck was he looking for, I thought and then looked at my sister’s letter in my hand, it couldn’t have been this. Who on earth would tell someone that they’re writing a letter that’s addressed to their sibling for if they died? I slammed the window shut while locking it and drawing the curtains. 

“Nothing’s missing,” I muttered as I stood in the same place where the intruder stood and then turned my body to face the nightstand. “This is where he was facing before he ran.” I then kneeled down and opened up the drawer and saw that there were only some makeup, jewelry, and a hairbands in it. Rummaging through the items I found that there was a thin notebook at the bottom of the drawer and pulled it out. It was tiny about the size of a memo book, I flipped to the first page to see that there were a list of names that were on there and were crossed out. Inspecting a little bit closer I saw that there were tiny notes in the margin coordinating with times and dates. 

_ Alex Senjo- Not possible. Was sick for an entire week when pens went missing _

_ Bobby Ored-Not possible. Was with a teacher when the stuff in my locker was moved _

_ Owen Unoje- Not possible. Doesn’t even know where my locker is _

I started to search through the long list of names that were in the book, each and everyone of the people in there were crossed out.

“Abby, you were trying to find this son of a,” I held my tongue as I thought about how she must have felt. Not feeling safe everywhere you go, always having a person following you, and you couldn’t even do anything about it.

“Why didn’t you ask for help,” I then halted in my reading and then remembered that the only things that she said went missing were her writing utensils and that some of her stuff was moved. It wasn’t like you could call the police and ask them to help find your missing pencils and pens.

“Abby, there has to be something else, you wouldn’t get scared just because some of your stuff went missing,” I started to search through the book and saw that one of them stood up.

_ Billy Wevar- Not possible. Was in the nurse’s office when the letters disappeared. _

“Letters?” I repeated and then searched through the book and saw that there were more mentions of them.

_ Peter Dislan- Not possible. Was practicing for water polo when the letter appeared in my locker. _

_ Wenda Foid-Not possible. Was in the library when the letters were taken _

“What letters?” I said while scanning the pages and then saw that the last page was ripped out.

“Oh, Abby, you tried to confront the person, didn’t you,” I said 

It had been two days since I found the list, and ever since then I’ve been trying to find out who was stalking my sister. I’ve looked at the message that she left behind, but only came up blank as I had no clue what she was trying to say. I was currently sitting in a coffee shop while searching through the list of students that were in the school Abby was in.

“Why did you have to put it in code?” I said to myself while staring at the letter she left.

“You finally got it, then” I looked up to see the same man that talked to me at Abby’s funeral was sitting across from me, still dressed in the same suit that I had seen him in.

“What the,” I said as he sat there and took the letter from my hand and started looking it over.

“Hey!” I yelled and snatched it out of his hands.

“It seems you haven’t figured it out yet, but don’t worry you will,” the man said as he laid back in his seat.

“Who are you?”

“My name's Riley, but you don't want to know that. You want to know how I knew that your sister left a letter to you and that there's a hidden message in it. I'm not the stalker that your sister was talking about, if that's what you're thinking. I have no interest in what you're doing right now. However you’ll need my help later. In fact you’ll even ask for it.”

“And what makes you say that?”

“Nothing. I know. You better look at your sister’s letter again. I know you beings are a bit slow, so I’ll just give you a little nudge. Her message is standing in the front.”

“A caramel frappuccino for Robin!” I looked over to the counter as the barista put my cup of coffee on the counter next to the rest of the cups. I then turned my head back to Riley only to see that the chair in front of me was empty.

“How did he?” I looked around in hopes to see if Riley was still in the crown only to come up empty. I then turned my attention back to the letter. Why couldn’t he had just told me what she meant.

It was when I got home did I find out what the letter was saying. I was sitting in the dining room when I figured out what Riley meant.

_ Songs about mortality Are calling out loud. Kindred is...living life enchants death. My eternity. _

“What does it mean,” I repeated the message as I inspected the letter again. “The message is standing in the front.”

Standing in the front. What the heck does that mean? Did he mean the first word? No, there’s nothing significant about it. That was when I looked at the letter again. Some of the words were capitalized when they weren’t supposed to. Abby was a perfectionist, she’d never write a letter this way unless it was on purpose. The message is standing in the front. Front. First? First letter? I looked back at the letter when realization dawned on me and I immediately started to decipher what it meant.

**_S_ ** _ ongs  _ **_a_ ** _ bout  _ **_m_ ** _ ortality  _ **_A_ ** _ re  _ **_c_ ** _ alling _ **_o_ ** _ ut _ **_l_ ** _ oud.  _ **_K_ ** _ indred  _ **_i_ ** _ s... _ **_l_ ** _ iving _ **_l_ ** _ ife  _ **_e_ ** _ nchants  _ **_d_ ** _ eath.  _ **_M_ ** _ y  _ **_e_ ** _ ternity.  _

**_Sam Acol Killed Me_ **

“Oh my god,” I put down my pen as I started to look through the list of students and immediately started searching for Sam Acol. I looked through the list until I found his name. I then searched through the yearbooks and clubs that he was in. I looked at Sam Acol’s yearbook picture and saw that he was Abby’s age, he had blonde hair and grey eyes.

“He didn’t share any classes with Abby, but she did have art club with him.” I looked at the photo of the art club that was taken in the beginning of the year and saw that Sam Acol’s face was slightly shifted towards Abby. It was taken when Abby was in freshman year. That was two years ago.

“I suppose it’s time for you to get your revenge now isn’t it?” I jumped up and turned around to see Riley leaning against the wall still adorning the same black suit that I’ve always seen him in.

“How did you get in here?” 

“No need to be alarmed. It’s not like I’m here to kill you.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“You should really close your windows.” 

“Why are you here?” I started to back away from him so I headed towards the kitchen.

“You finally solved the message. You were so slow at it. Then again you have an average intelligence.”

“Were you following me?”

“Why on earth would I do that. I have no interest in you, but unfortunately an associate of mine does.”

“Who?”

“Not who, what.”

“What?”

“Exactly.” I scoffed as he gave me a smug grin.

“Now are you going to get revenge for your sister? I do enjoy a good duel for honor and family. ” He then sat down at the dining table making himself comfortable.

“I’m not going to kill him,” I leaned against the kitchen counter ready to pull out the pepper spray that I kept hidden in the utensil drawer. 

“Right, because I’m sure this is all you need to sentence a man to jail. When all you have is a notebook that has a list of names, for which Samuel, isn’t on. Not to mention, that little message in her letter could be written off as a coincidence. Besides who would go to the trouble of investigating all of that for some missing pens and misplaced objects.” I clenched my hand into a fist. I knew he was right, the proof that I had wouldn’t be enough. What was I supposed to, that’s when I remembered.

“The letters, he could still have the letters that he sent to her,” I said and then saw that Riley was getting out of his seat.

“It seems that you have an unwelcome visitor.”

“What?” 

Crash!

I turned my head towards the noise and then looked back at Riley to see that he was gone. I didn’t care about that at the moment and ran to see what caused the noise. I walked outside and saw that it was a cat that knocked over one of the potted plants.

“Freaking cat.” I then walked back inside only to feel a sharp pain in the back of my hand and darkness clouded my vision.

I groaned as my vision came out blurry and I tried to look around to see a figure picking up the papers that I had left on the table. He then turned towards me and smiled, he then crouched down and tilted my face up so I could get a clear picture of his face. My eyes widened as the face went into focus. 

“Acol, you son of a,” I groaned as I went to reach for my head which was throbbing.

“Don’t worry, you’re not bleeding, but you really shouldn’t be moving.” He held the papers in front of him as he started to skim through them.

“Get your hands off of those!” I yelled only for him to point a gun in front of my face.

“You know, Abby was such a magnificent person. Never giving up. Every time I sent her a letter. She never got scared like anyone else would have. In fact it just made her more motivated to find me. Such a confident little lady. When she asked me to meet her at the pool. I knew. I knew that she had figured it out. So when her back was turned. I did it. She never saw it coming. You should have seen her face before I pushed her into the pool. Her face was full of terror. That one expression that I wanted to get out of her. It was beautiful.”

“You twisted sicko,” I groaned in pain as he pressed the barrel of his gun against my skull.

“You were probably going to try to see if I had any of those letters left.” He gave a little laugh, “Do you think I would be that stupid to keep anything that could get me in trouble. Those letters are long gone. Just like the paper of names that was in your sister’s pocket. Just like how these papers are going to be.” He gestured towards the bundle of papers he held. “It was a pleasure talking to you, Ms. Colter. Goodnight.” He then slammed his gun against my head knocking me out.

“Wake up.” I groaned in pain as I heard a voice.

“Robin, wake up.” I cracked my eyes open, only to be immediately assaulted by light making me immediately shut them.

“Looks like Sleeping Beauty’s awake.”  That voice, it was Riley.

“Where the hell did you go.” I sat up while trying to focus my vision.

“I go as far as to heal that bruise on your head, and you start cursing at me,” he then handed me a glass of water.

“You what?” I reached my hand back to touch the place where Acol had hit me only to feel nothing. 

“What the.” I looked back at Riley who was smirking.

“Have you reconsidered your way of getting revenge now,” he said with a smug look.

“Wipe that smirk off your face.” I grunted as I stood up and started to walk towards the kitchen.

“Not even a thank you?” 

“I’m not in the mood.”

“It must have been terrible.” I stopped and then looked at Riley.

“What?”

“The last person you see before you die, is the one that caused you so much fear.You know a person like him won’t stop with her.” I looked down contemplating his words and then stared at Riley.

“How can you help me?”

“I can’t exactly help you, but my associate on the other hand,” He took something out of his suit pocket and dangled it in front of me, “can certainly give you an advantage.”

Three weeks have passed since the death of my sister. I was watching the television while preparing myself a cup of coffee.

“People are still mourning after the death of Sam Acol. Who was admitted to the hospital over a week ago. Saying that he wasn’t feeling well. Doctors say that he was probably bitten by a rabid animal making Sam contract rabies. Unfortunately by the time Sam Acol was admitted to the hospital it was too late to give the vaccine.” 

I looked back at the cup of coffee that was in front of me and then sighed.

_ “You know you’re not the only one who’s done this before,” Riley said, “There are others who have been in a similar situation.” _

_ “I see.” I looked at the bracelet that I now adorned on my wrist. _

_ “You know you’ll never be able to have a normal life now.” _

_ “I don’t care. It’s the price I have to pay.” _

“Sam Acol spent his final moments in the hospital and passed away about a week after he was admitted.”

_ I stood in front of the school where Sam Acol was talking to some boys. I took off my gloves and walked towards him, ignoring all of the other people that were trying to get around me. Once I was in distance I punched him straight in the face, knocking him down. _

_ “You deserved that.” I then turned around and left. _

I put my coffee down and pulled on my gloves while glancing at the charm bracelet on my wrist.

_ “You’ll never be able to touch a person without getting them sick now. Are you content with that?” Riley asked me as soon as I got home from punching Sam in the face. _

_ “Very.”  _

_ “If I may ask, why rabies?” _

_ “Because he deserves to suffer, and live in fear. Just like he did to my sister.”  _

I looked at the bracelet on my wrist, the charm that was silver and had a slight glow to it.

_ “You are now part of something bigger.” Riley fastened the bracelet around my wrist. _

_ “And what is that?” _

_ “You are now a bearer for one of the Zodiac. Are you prepared?” _

_ “Yes.” _

_ “Allow me to welcome you, Cancer.” _

I looked at the crab charm that was softly glowing. I do not regret taking revenge. I chose to do it on my own free will. For what it takes, what I lost does not matter to me. This is not the end, no, it was only just the beginning.


	2. Birth of Arsen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas has been kidnapped and tortured, and now he is close to reaching his breaking point, what will he give to get out.

Do you know that there is a  .00039 percent chance of being a serial killer victim. Pretty small isn’t it. Naturally, I thought that I wouldn’t have to worry about things like that, after all, I am only one person out of billions. Unfortunately for me, I won the raffle. I didn’t even see it coming, I didn’t really see much after either, and when I was able to see something, I wish that I never did. 

Black. That was all I was able to see. Pitch black. I moved my arms forward, only to be constricted, for they were chained to the wall that I was leaning against.I was in a cell, at least, that’s what I think I was in. I couldn’t exactly walk around to see, probably because my shackled hands wouldn’t like it. How exactly did I get there, I couldn’t recall. It had been so long ago. I don’t even remember what day it was. I was starting to doze off when I heard the door slam open letting in a bright stream of light into the room and then the lights were turned on making me cover my face as white started to invade my vision. I heard the man come in and open the cell door that was next to me. I took a glance at what was happening to see the man place a body onto the ground before taking a chain and tying the person to the wall. He then turned towards me making me see that they had a burlap sack on top of their head with eye holes cut out. I turned my head down making sure that he couldn’t see me. He then started to walk away turning off the lights and then closing the doors leaving me in total darkness.

“Mommy.” I was brought out of my slumber. I started to look around when I heard it again.

“Mommy.” The voice was sniffling. Who the, wait. I looked over to the cell next to me. I focused my hearing making me try to focus onto the person talking. The voice had a high pitch like a girl’s. I waited for awhile waiting to see if the person would talk again. After a couple minutes of silence I spoke up.

“She’s not here, so don’t waste your breath calling out for her.” I heard clanging from the chains.

“Who are you? Where am I?” The voice was hoarse, and I could tell she was shaking.

“My name’s Thomas. What’s your name?” I didn’t hear a response until I heard movement.

“Lily.”

“How old are you Lily?”

“Six.” What the heck! How in the world did he manage to abduct a six year old. That was when the door slammed open making us halt our conversation. I looked at the man walking towards the cell that was across from mine and opening it. I then heard him drag the person that was in the cell away and through the door. His name was Robbie. I remember him talking to me when he first came here. After the man first dragged him through the door, he never spoke again. I watched as the man dragged Robbie away and closed the door leaving us in darkness.

“Mister Thomas?” 

“Yeah, Lily.”

“I’m scared.” I looked back into the direction Lily was in. What was I supposed to say to her. I could tell her that everything’s alright, and that there’s nothing to worry about, but I doubt that’s pretty convincing when you’re chained to a wall. There was no way that I could tell her that the man that took her is most likely going to torture her and then kill her. 

“Lily, what do you want me to tell you right now.” I was met with silence until I heard the chains rattling again.

“Can you tell me that everything’s going to be alright.” I sighed and leaned my back against the wall.

“It’s okay Lily. I know you’re scared, but don’t worry. You’ll be back home before you know it.”

“Mister Thomas.”

“Yeah”

“Thank you.” I looked back in her direction and tugged on my chains.

“You're welcome.” I then closed my eyes and went to sleep.

Bang!

I sat up as I heard the door open and the man started to walk in. I looked at the cell across from me, only to see that it was empty. I was halted from my thoughts when a stream of water hit my face. I spluttered as the man started spray me with a hose and then proceeded to do the same with Lily. I heard her shriek and then saw her move to the corner of her cell. I looked at the man, even though I couldn’t see his face, I could make out that his shoulders were shaking. That psycho is getting off on this. I watched as he turned around and then started to hose down the others in the cells. I could barely make out the majority of them, but I counted five others that were there. He soon left, closing the door behind him,  but I knew he would be back soon.

“Mister Thomas.” I looked over at Lily. I couldn’t see her, but I could tell that she was shivering.

“Yes, Lily.”

“Why is he doing this?” I stretched my arms making the chains rattle.

“Do you really want to know?” I waited in silence, not receiving an answer. I waited for a little bit longer and then heard her crying.

“I want to go home.” 

“Lily, don’t cry.” Her sobs didn’t stop. Oh boy. “Seriously, stop. He likes it if you cry. That’s not a good thing.”

“Why does he like it?” Uh oh. I shouldn’t answer that. 

“It’s complicated.” Before she could ask another question, the door slammed open and the man was pushing a cart in. I watched as he took a plate and then lifted a latch that was on the door and pushed a tray of some kind of mush towards me. He then proceeded to do the same with all of the others. After he was done with that, he left leaving us in darkness again.

“Mister Thomas?” I sighed.

“Yes.”

“What is this”

“Your food.”

“Food?”

“It’s what’s keeping you from dieing from starvation.” I heard chains rattling from around the room. It seems like the others are awake. 

“Mister Thomas?” 

“Yeah.”

“How come the others aren’t talking.” I waited for a moment, contemplating on what I should say.

“It’s best if you don’t know. Now do something, that I’m pretty sure your parents and teachers would tell you not to do, and eat the unidentifiable stuff.” I heard a small laugh come from Lily and then felt around for the edge of my plate and pulled it towards me. Taking a scoop of it with my hands and put it in my mouth. It had a foul taste, more like it had a bit of a sour undertone on top of what it’d be like if you were to eat a bad batch of macaroni and cheese with the consistency of gummy mashed potatoes.

“Mister Thomas?” I sighed and halted my eating.

“Yes.”

“How long have you been here?” I tried to think.

“Lily, what month is it?”

“October.” I tried to remember what month it was before I ended up here.

“I think I’ve been here since August.”

“Aren’t your parents looking for you?”

“Don’t have any.Now finish your food.” I went back to eating my food, stopping our conversation.

I heard the door bang open making me look up. I then saw the man stand in front of my cell and open it. He was carrying something in his hand. I looked up at him and gave a sarcastic grin.

“My turn already?” That was when he knocked me out.

* * *

 

When I started to come to, I was sitting in a chair. My feet and were tied to the chair by rope, my hands were tied behind my back while rope was tied around my chest and the back of the chair. I looked up only to be assaulted by a bright light making me squint waiting for my eyes to adjust. I saw grey walls surrounding me, I looked down and saw splatters of red. I looked to my left and saw that the man was there, burlap sack and all. He was pouring water into a large tub. The man’s clothes were filthy riddled with dirt and blood. The man was wearing a large pair of jeans that were ripped and a dirty t-shirt. I looked at his hands to see that he was wearing latex gloves. I looked down at myself and saw that my jeans were looking worse for wear and that my shirt was feeling loose on me, most likely because I’ve been starving for these past few weeks. I looked back at the man to see that he threw a bucket of liquid at me. I coughed and felt that my eyes were burning, then a strong smell came to my nostrils. Bleach. I then felt him push the chair towards the tub and then tipped my chair so that my face was in the water making me gasp as water started to fill my lungs making them burn. 

“Let’s play.” The man said. His voice was gravely and deep. His breath was rancid like a dumpster.

“Your breath stinks. You should lay off the cigarettes.” That was when he hit me in the head.

“Shut up! You don’t deserve to talk!” Oh look, he’s angry. What a shocker. I watched as he left the room leaving me tied to the chair.

“Amazing, Thomas.” I turned my head to see a man in a black suit right next to me. He was a dark brunette that had his hair slicked back and had amber eyes.

“How did you?”

“Weeks have gone by, and you’re still not breaking. I think I’m starting to understand what it sees in you.”

“That man’s a crazy psychopath.” I replied. Who the heck was this guy?

“Not really, you should see what Romans did to their captives.”

“Who the hell are you?” I remember him from before. It was when I was first tied to this chair. He just appeared out of thin air and looked at me. I thought I was hallucinating from the lack of blood, when he said something strange. “Not ready yet.” was what he said.

“Thomas, are you dead?” I was brought out of my thoughts when the man snapped his fingers in front of my face. 

“Who are you?” I asked. He gave me a mischievous smile.

“My name is Riley, and we will meet again soon.” He gave a small bow. The door then slammed open making me see the crazy man walk in, I turned my head back to Riley only to see that he was gone. What the? I then looked back at the crazy man who was now carrying a scalpel in his hand. 

“Oh look we’re playing doctor.” I bit my lip as I  saw him dig the scalpel into the palms of my hands making blood squirt out.

“I’m going to make sure you keep your mouth shut.” The man said to me, I couldn’t see it, but I could tell, he was smiling.

* * *

 

I didn’t know how much time had passed by but the man right now was wrapping my wounds. Strange, why in the world would he want to make sure we didn’t bleed out. The answer was simple, to keep us around longer. He dragged me out of the room and then threw me back into the cell and locked me up. After he left I heard Lily moving.

“Mister Thomas, are you okay?”

“I’d say I’m fine, but you’d know I’d only be lying.” I grunted in pain as I leaned against the wall.

“I want to know why he does this.” I stopped and looked in Lily’s direction.

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Lily, there are a lot of different people in the world. There are nice people, mean people, this one. He’s just plain crazy. You can’t understand him.” Once I finished that sentence I heard her move again.

“Mister Thomas, when can we get out?” I didn’t know how I was supposed to answer.

“Soon, so be patient okay.” That was what I chose to say.

“Okay.” I smiled and then started to fall asleep.

* * *

 

Click. Snap. Click. Snap.

I opened my eyes a I heard those sounds and looked in front of me. A figure was standing in front of me. Click, the lighter in his hand ignited showing his face. It was Riley. Snap, it clicked shut. 

“You are very close Thomas, you’re almost there.” He said.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m offering you a way to get out of here.” He clicked the lighter on.

“What?”

“You’re almost there, all you need is a push.” He snapped the lighter shut and then disappeared.

“I’m losing my mind.” I muttered and then fell asleep.

* * *

 

Bam!

The door slammed open again. I started to rouse from my slumber and sat there as the man did the usual routine of hosing us down and giving us another plate of mush and then leaving us. After a couple of minutes of silence I heard chains rattling next to me.

“Mister Thomas?”

“What is it Lily?”

“Are you okay?”

“Honestly, I don’t know anymore.” That was when the door slammed open. I heard Lily scurry into the corner of the cell while the man walked in front of my cell.

“So soon? I didn’t even get to start breakfast.” I mocked that was when I saw what he was holding in his hands. He raised it towards me and out came the clamps attached to wires that pinned onto my clothes. Quick lesson for those who didn't know before. Taser plus water soaked person equals extreme pain. I started to convulse as electricity started to surge throughout my body. I didn’t know how long it was before I blacked out, but I could clearly see that the man who was holding the taser was extremely happy.

The second I woke up again, I was back in the chair. Big surprise. Although this time my arms were tied to the arm boards of the chair instead of behind me. I looked up to see that the man was messing around with some kind of machine. It was small enough that it could be pushed around on a little cart and it was also plugged in.

“What’s that?” I asked. The man didn’t give me a response as he turned on the machine. 

“Hello? Have you lost your hearing?” Still no response.

“Now this is starting to get awkward.” He then turned around with what looked like a scalpel at the tip and had a plastic handle with the chord attached to some kind of machine. That’s when I recognized what he was holding. A wood burning tool. This day just keeps on getting better and better doesn’t it.

“Are you trying to get into art now?” He pushed the cart closer to me and wiped off whatever dirt that was on my forearm .

“This will make sure you know your place.” The man said and then sunk the hot knife into my arm causing me to scream and grip my hands tight enough for my fingernails to draw blood. It was unbearable it was like the feeling when you accidentally touch a hot pan, but instead of a burning  pan you got a searing hot knife that is cutting you open while simultaneously burning your wounds closed.

I didn’t know how long this lasted, I only knew that once he was done with one arm he would then start on my other arm. Once he was done with that, he then worked on my upper arms and after that he started to burn the palms of my hand along with my fingers. It felt like hours, it probably was hours since I was pretty sure he was taking his sweet time. The next thing I know I was being dragged back to my cell to be locked up again. I laid my head back against the wall as I heard deep breathing from the cell next to me. It sounds like Lily was sleeping. How long was I tied to the chair? How long has it been since I’ve seen sunlight? Only one answer came to mind. Too long. I closed my eyes as I finally let my body rest.

* * *

 

I don’t remember the last time I actually dreamt of something, probably because it would never last. Although this time it wasn’t a dream, it was a memory.

_ It was nighttime, I was going back to my apartment on my way home from work.  _

_ “Taking the night shift while having classes early in the morning. Not the brightest idea.” I yawned and tightened the hold on my bag as I walked down a street and turned a corner. _

_ Crash! _

_ What was that? I turned around to the alleyway next to me to see that a man was beating down one of the homeless people that lived around here. _

_ “What the.” I started to head over to the man. _

_ “You’re disgusting filth! You’re only fit living in these dirty alleyways. You colored piece of trash!” I grabbed the man that was yelling and pulled him away from the homeless man. _

_ “What is wrong with you!” The man retaliated by pushing me against the wall and then taking out something from his coat. Even though the alley was dark I caught the flash of silver in his hand. He hit me in the side of my head knocking me to the ground making my vision blur. _

_ BANG! _

_ I watched as the homeless man fell over completely still before I closed my eyes as I felt myself being dragged before completely passing out. _

I gasped as I woke up, it was so long since that had happened. Why am I recalling it now? That was when I noticed that there was a light in the room. I looked to my left to see Riley with a flashlight under his face.

“Boo.” 

“...”

“Really, nothing?” He gave a pout, “and here I thought I’d at least make you jump.”

“What’s with the flashlight this time?”

“Well, the lighter wasn’t working for me, so I was going to use a lantern, but it seems a certain pair has taken it without my knowing.” I could clearly tell that Riley looked like he was about to tear something apart.

“That looks bad.” I saw that Riley was pointing the flashlight at the branded words that were on my left arm.

_ DISGUSTING SYMPATHIZER  _

“Any idea why he put that?” 

“I’ll humor you. It’s because I tried to stop him from beating up a homeless man. Big help that did.” I sighed and rested my head against the wall.

“What do you mean by that?” 

“He killed the man, that’s what.”

“Interesting.”

“Interesting? That dude is a crazy racist asshole.” I turned to look at Riley “Why are you even here?”

“It was either being here or watch Toddlers and Tiaras."

"Good choice" Riley gave a small laugh and then pointed the light towards the palm of my hands which were now littered with scars and burns.

"That looks painful."

"It feels worse than it looks." 

“I'm pretty sure smart-mouthing that man isn't doing you any favors.” I looked over at Riley who was still looking at my burn.

"I know that, but it gives me peace of mind."

"Do tell me how being tortured gives you peace of mind."

"If he's busy torturing me, than he's leaving everybody alone."

"What a crazy human you are."

“And you're a weird hallucination.”

“I’m a hallucination now?” Riley looked up at me.

“Do you expect me to believe that a man can just appear and disappear in thin air. Not to mention I’m the only one who’s seen you.”

“A normal human, no. I however am not.” I gave a small laugh at that statement.

“Does that amuse you?”

"A little yes."

“You humans, so feeble minded and yet so complicated. I suppose that’s why they’re so entranced by your kind.” 

“Ok, I know I’m just talking to a figment of my imagination, right now, but I’ll bite. Who’s they?”

“Intrigued?”

“Just keep talking, not like I’m going anywhere.” I rattled the chains for emphasis. Not like I had anything else to lose either, since I’m pretty sure my sanity jumped overboard ever since I started seeing Riley.

“They are the zodiac.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“What?”

“Care to elaborate on that?” I supplied.

“Oh yes, you humans never heard about them like that.” 

“What?”

“You’ve heard of the zodiac signs, Virgo, Libra, Aquarius, etcetera. Right?”

“Yes.”

“Good, that saves us time, but since I don’t have all day to give you a history lesson, I’ll just give you a shortened version. A very long time ago, all of the zodiac members sacrificed their physical bodies in order to protect something, that you humans don’t know about so I’m not going to explain that to you. In doing so, only their souls and power and remained of them. However in order for them to survive they reside in objects. Once they are in an object they have to have a person to be contracted to, in order for the soul to be stabilized.”

“Contract?” I said.

“There are two parts of a contract. The first part is where they accept the ownership and responsibilities of being a zodiac vessel. The second part is optional, but everybody usually takes it. The second part is a special gift that you receive, however there is a price to be paid for it. The payment for said gift is usually in the form of something precious to the person.”

“Must be some gift.” I said

“Oh, those gifts are something. Allowing a regular human being to walk through walls or to actually manipulate reality itself. You interested?”

“I’ll give you my answer after I’m off this acid trip,” I laughed and looked towards the ceiling.

“I’ll ask you again, Thomas. I suppose when you’re more awake.” Riley sighed and then looked back at me. “For now, why don’t you rest, you have an eventful day tomorrow.”

He turned off his flashlight, leaving me in the embrace of darkness and letting me fall into the sweet clutches of sleep.

* * *

 

BOOM!

I awoke as soon as the door open and sat up to see that the man was opening my cell.

“Three times in a row, now you’re making me feel special.” I grinned as the man than brought a baseball bat to my head knocking me out. All of these knocking out moments are starting to get repetitive. 

I awoke to the glorious sound of my lungs being filled with water. I coughed as my head was pulled out of the water basin. I took in a couple of much needed breaths of air as the man dragged me back into the chair. 

“You know I’ve been in this chair so many times, you might as well just right my name on it.” The response I received was a punch to the face. I tasted blood as soon as he retracted his hand, great, he must have busted one of my teeth.

“You know since I’m the only one participating in these one-sided conversations. I’ve been wondering why you’re taking your anger out on poor little us. What’s the matter? Can’t satisfy the Misses? Or Mister, I don’t judge.” That was when he freaking stabbed me in my right thigh. I yelled as he pulled it out and then put the blade against my neck. The knife was small so that it didn’t impale too deeply, but it was sharp enough to make it hurt. 

“Do not dare to think that I would even do something so vile as that!” he yelled. Vile? That was when it clicked.

“You’re not just a racist asshole, you’re also a bigot” I halted my breath as he pressed the knife into my neck causing it to almost cut the skin. 

“You better shut your mouth, before I slit your throat.” 

“You wouldn’t do that.” He pressed the knife harder. “If you did that you’d disrupt the routine you’ve worked so hard to establish.” 

A moment passed by before he then placed the knife down and then grabbed my throat with both of his hands. I tried to inhale as much air as I could while the man was applying his vice grip to my throat cutting off as much circulation as he could. I started to choke for air as my lungs started to yearn for oxygen. It was when my vision was starting to blur and swim together when he finally let go. I coughed as he let me go while feeling the bruising that was forming around my neck. That was when I saw him turn his back and walk out of the room. 

I know what you’re probably thinking. Shut up you idiot, he’s going to freaking kill you! While I do know that he will eventually kill me, but if I do keep my mouth shut, then he’ll kill me even sooner if I did. A man like him, finds joy in dominating people, if the person stops talking, he takes that as a sign of surrender and then ends you. The only thing that’s keeping me alive is my motormouth. 

I was brought out of my musings as I heard the man talking and the sound of rattling chains. The man entered a room and dragged in something that surprised me. A tiny little girl being pulled by the chains around her wrists. Lily? It was the first good look I had of her. She long curly brown hair and light brown eyes, she was wearing a pink Tinkerbell t-shirt with jeans while wearing pink sneakers. She was currently crying while trying to stay as far away from the man as possible.

“I might not be able to break you now, but I can break her, and once she’s broken, you’re next. Just so you know whatever happens to her pretty little head is on you.” He then chose that time to punch me in the face again causing the room to spin.

“Mister Thomas?” she said in a quiet voice, that was when he yanked the chain dragging her to the ground. 

“Lily” I tried to say, but it only came out as a gurgle as my throat didn’t seem to want literate what I wanted to say.

“Come child, it’s your turn to play.” The man tugged on the chain making the girl try to pull back.

“No! I don’t want to go!” she yelled as the man continued to pull her out of the room. The only thing I could do was sit there as I heard her screams from down the hall. I tried to move only for my restraints to mock me

“Thomas,” I tried to focus on the voice, it was coming out disoriented, if only the room would stop spinning!

“Thomas!” I tried to move my head only to see a blurry figure standing in front of me. Riley?

“Thomas! You need to focus!” I groaned as I tried to lift my head again.

“Thomas! Can you understand me?” I gave out a groan. “I’ll take that as a yes. Listen Thomas.” He steadied my head so I could see his face, which was really fuzzy.

“You want to save her, don’t you?” Of course I want to, but I can’t exactly break out of this like superman. No, I can’t and right now I’m having a conversation with a hallucination. That was when Riley slapped me.

“You’re not going crazy Thomas. I’m as real as the next person. Now focus!” He steadied my head again. That was when I heard a scream. Lily!

“Thomas, do you remember what I told you before?” I nodded

“Now, I’m asking you again. Would you say yes to the contract?” I didn’t know why I believed that it was real, perhaps it was because I thought that this was my only option for saving her and to prevent others from being hurt.

“Yes.” I managed to croak making Riley grin.

“Good choice.” That was when a burning sensations started to spread throughout my body. I then fell out of the chair that I was restrained to. When did I get lose? I heard Riley walk up to me and helped me stand up.

“Time for you to get to work Thomas. I can collect your payment later.” Then he was gone. Dismissing the vanishing act I started to wobble towards the door. Well I tried to, as I ended up slamming myself into the cart filled with bloody tools causing it to crash onto the floor scattering the equipment. I groaned as I tried to push myself up, that was when I heard footsteps. He’s coming here.

“How the hell did you get out?!” I grinned as he slammed the door shut. He then lifted me by the back of my shirt. I looked straight at the burlap sack on top of his head. I looked at his other free hand and saw that there was blood on it. Blood that wasn’t there before. Just like that, I snapped. It was only for a moment until I realised that I had punched the man in the face. Then he retaliated by grabbing the front of my shirt and threw me against the wall and wrapped his hands around my neck again. I tried to pry his hands off only for his grip to tighten. The next thing I knew, both of my hands grabbed his wrists, then my hands lit ablaze causing the man to yell in pain dropping me. I choked as I took in the air again and looked at my hands to see that there were no longer on fire and that there wasn’t even a mark on them. I then looked back at the man that was screaming at his burned arms. I then felt him pull me up by his hands.

“What did you do to me?!” He shouted. I didn’t know why I did it, but I grabbed the burlap sack that was on top of his head and like a lightswitch my hands ignited causing the man to drop me and take off the sack in haste. That was when I took a good look at the man who had caused so much suffering, the man who tortured and killed others. Pathetic. I looked at the man he was about middle age and had balding hair. He went back to screaming in pain at his hands that were burned by taking off the flaming sack.

“Yeah, I’m told that hurts.” I walked over to the man and lit my hands on fire.

“Mercy.” The man said.

“How many people had asked you that before you killed them.” I clenched my hand into a fist.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you. I’m just going to make sure you won’t hurt anyone anymore,” my hand then stretched towards his face.

* * *

 

I stumbled out of the room leaning on the wall for support. The hallway was lit by hanging ceiling lights, I looked around to see that there was another door and started to head towards it. I grabbed the handle and turned it as I pushed my weight against it causing the door to open and making me fall to the ground.

“Mister Thomas!” I looked up to see Lily being tied to a chair. Her shoulder was bleeding dyeing her pink shirt red.

“It’s going to be okay, Lily.” I grunted as I pushed myself up and unbuckled the belts that were keeping her in place. She got off the chair and started to help me lean against the wall. I surveyed the room to see that there were backpacks and bags stacked up against each other in the corner. This must have originally been a storage room. The adrenaline in my system was starting to wear off as my vision started to blur.

“Lily, the grey bag,” she looked at the pile and took out the worn bag that was in the corner. “My phone should be in the front pocket, it was off so it should be okay.” I watched as she started to search through the bag. My eyes started to feel heavy as I found myself blinking more often. I watched as she turned on my phone, which was thankfully still working, and unlocked it. Good thing I didn’t have a passcode.

“Mister Thomas, are you okay?” I blinked realising that I hadn’t responded.

“Everything’s going to be okay. Just dial 911 and we’ll go home soon, okay?”

“Okay,” she replied and held the phone to her ear. I let my body relax and laid my hands in my lap. That was when I felt something in my pocket. I put my hand into my pocket and felt for the object, it was small and rectangular. A lighter? When did that get there?

“Mister Thomas?” I looked back up to Lily, that was when my vision decided to blur and I fell on my side letting darkness cloud my sight while I heard Lily calling out my name.

* * *

 

Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep

I was tired, so tired, and yet I chose to open my eyes. It was dark, but it wasn’t black. I looked to my left to see that there was a window with the blinds closed. I looked at my arms to see that they were wrapped in bandages and I looked to my right to see the heart monitor beeping along with the IV drip that was connected to the vein in my arm.

“Quite a fighter, aren’t you Thomas.” My eyes darted back to my left to see Riley in his signature black suit sitting in the chair on my left reading a newspaper.

“Seven victims of the Silencer Serial Killer found alive.” Riley read, “A phone call from the six year old captive Lily Evol asking for help alerted the authorities the whereabouts of the rest of the victims. When the police arrived at the scene they found the suspect, Lance Noit, covered in second and third degree burns. One of the cops stated that the man was delusional saying that the devil was trying to burn and drag him to hell. Doctors say that the man would never be able to move his hands, legs, and will not be able to speak normally again.” he stood up and left the newspaper in the chair and then turned towards me.

“That girl came by yesterday. She’s fine, left you some flowers and a get-well card. She left with her mothers after that. Thomas you’ve been out for over a week.” He took out a compact mirror from his suit and placed it in my hand and bringing it to my face. My short red hair had grown to reach my chin and I had stubble growing. My green eyes were looking tired and that I looked skinnier than I was before. There was a bandage on my cheek along with some staples on the top of my forehead. I looked back at Riley as he took back the mirror, and placed a lighter right next to a bouquet of flowers.

“I’ve already taken the liberty of taking your payment. We’ll meet again when you’re well. Goodnight.” Riley gave a small bow as I laid my head back down and fell asleep.

The next day I woke up, the nurses and doctors came by to check up on me and an officer came by to ask me some questions. It was around late noon when I received a visitor.

“Mister Thomas!” I looked towards the door to see Lily standing there. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and she was adorning a pink dress with white shoes, behind her was a woman who had short black hair and brown eyes.

“Lily.” I said. She smiled and ran up to me.

“You’re finally awake!”

“I’m right in front of you. you don’t have to yell,” she grinned and then looked down at her hands.

‘Mommy says, that the bad guy isn’t going to be able to hurt anyone.”

“It makes you happy.”

“Yeah, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Excuse me,” a nurse said getting our attention, “We need to get an x-ray of the patient.”

“Oh, we’re sorry. We’ll leave,” Lily’s mother said. “Come on Lily, let the nurse take care of him.” 

“Bye Mister Thomas.” Lily waved before grabbing her mother’s hand and leaving.

“Okay, Thomas, let’s get you into the chair,” the nurse said as she pushed in a wheelchair.

* * *

 

Weeks have passed by as I stayed in that hospital, with Lily visiting me every so often. Recovery was slow and tedious, but I was finally healed. The media had died down as time passed, and now I’m sitting here contemplating my life. Here being a park bench. I looked around seeing a mother pushing her son on the swings, and elderly couple walking their dog, and a couple of kids playing tag while their mothers were talking. I looked at my bag which now contained all of my belongings. My former workplace already hired another person to replace me and I had to leave my apartment because I couldn’t pay the rent. I took time off from school for money reasons and so I could get my life in check. Not working well on that last part. No job, no home, no money. That was when I saw a flash of silver in the corner of my eye on instinct I grabbed the arm, and lit my hand on fire and then looked at the figure that I had lit ablaze only to see instead of the person burning to ashes or panicking, the person just simply inverted on itself, like if you were to see a black hole collapse on itself and then disappeared. I looked around only to see that the park was barren of any people.

“That’s not very nice mister.” I looked behind me to see a girl that looked to be about nine or ten years old, she had blonde hair and blue eyes. Her hair was braided and she was wearing a frilly dress similar to one of those porcelain dolls would be in, she was in a wheelchair and the man that was pushing her was wearing a pale pink suit and had a top hat that was obscuring his face from my vision.

“It’s not nice to set people on fire.” the girl said, “Although if they’re mean people it’s okay, after all, you did that before.” I remained silent as I looked at the two.

“You should be feeling a little curious or at least surprised, but you can’t, can you.” She stared straight at me. “You gave up your ability to feel your human emotions so you could get your gift.”

“I suppose that you’re one of the zodiac” I finally said

“Yup! I’m Virgo. You can call me Alice.” Her eyes glowed navy blue for a second. “Riley was supposed to be here, but he had to go recruit Cancer. So I’m here to get you.”

“You’re here to get me.” I repeated

“Yup, you haven’t been doing your job. Although you were hurt, so I guess that’s okay.” The man behind her pulled her chair back and started to push it to the right.

“Come on Thomas, you don’t want to get left behind, do you?” Not wanting for an argument to happen I followed her.

“You know, you should have a cool superhero name, since you can shoot fire everywhere,” she said, “How about Blaze?”

“No.”

“Flame?” 

“No.”

“Dragon boy?”

“No.”

“Oooh, I know Inferno.”

“No.”

“Combustion man?”

“No.”

“How about-”

“Are you going to stop, or are you just going to keep on listing names until I finally agree to one.”

“Sparks?”

“No.”

“Scorch?”

“No.”

“Heat Wave?”

“No.”

“Oh, how about Arsen?” 

“...”

“Thomas?”

“It’s not bad.”

“Arsen, it is! I’m going to call you Arsen now, and you could be like a superhero I always see, like Superman!”

“Combustion man doesn’t sound bad now.” I mused.

“Arsen!” Alice whined and then giggled as she saw that I wasn’t serious.

“I have a lot to teach you Arsen, so you’ll have to listen to me okay?”

“Fine.” She laughed and then grabbed my right hand.

“So where’s your zodiac?” I took out my other hand from my pocket showing her my lighter that had a outline of a lion roaring etched into it.

“I think it looks cool, with you being Leo and all.”

“I suppose.” I looked back at the lighter and watched as the outline of the lion glowed gold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do try to give any advice you can. I am open to any criticism you have.


End file.
